Saturday, November 29, 2008

Proposition 8

Of course, I'm disappointed that it went through, even though I probably would not have taken advantage of it. A and I have been together over 30 years, and throwing a wedding at this point would seem a little silly, and after the fact. For better or for worse? In sickness and in health? Been there, done that. Till death do us part? Don't rush things.

But I sure do understand the shock and pain, and it was quite a wake-up call to a lot of people. I particularly feel for the couples that got married during the window of opportunity. The uncertainty they're going through must be terrible. It's true that AG Jerry Brown says the existing marriages probably would not be invalidated, but you don't really know until a test case goes through the courts. And who wants to be that test case?

And it's worth remembering that the trends are not going against us. As Andrew Sullivan pointed out, Proposition 22, which banned same-sex marriage in 2000, passed by 61.4%. Proposition 8 passed by 52.3%. That's a big change in only eight years. Most importantly, it's the younger voters that are most positive on the issue, and they're the future. You just have to be patient and keep telling yourself, this too shall pass.

No, that wasn't the best choice of words, no it wasn't.

Laughter and ridicule are pretty potent weapons, remember. Nobody's doing it better than sex advice columnist and podcaster Dan Savage, appearing here on the Colbert Report just a few days after the election. Stephen Colbert is known for maintaining his poker face through anything. Anything but what he gets at about 4'55":